NKorea sentences 2 US journalists to 12 years jail
By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer
48 mins ago
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea's top court convicted two
American journalists and sentenced them to 12 years in a prison
Monday, intensifying the reclusive nation's confrontation with the
United States.
The sentencing came amid soaring tensions fueled by the North's
latest nuclear and missile tests. Many believe Pyongyang is using
the journalists as bargaining chips as the U.N. debates a new
resolution to punish the unpredictable country for its latest
military threats.
In a cryptic two-sentence report, the North's state news agency
said Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36 were sentenced after the
five-day trial ended Monday. They were guilty of a "grave crime"
against the nation and of illegally crossing into North Korea, the
Korean Central News Agency said.
The court "sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through
labor," said the report, without giving other details. The phrase
refers to a prison term, according to Choi Eun-suk, a North Korean
law expert at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies.
He said North Korean law calls for transferring convicts to
prison within 10 days after verdict.
Ling and Lee, working for former Vice President Al Gore's
California-based Current TV, cannot appeal because they were tried
in North Korea's highest court, where decisions are final.
Some analysts believe negotiations will now begin that will
likely lead to the journalists' release.
"North Korea refused to release them ahead of a court ruling
because such a move could be seen as capitulating to the United
States," said Hajime Izumi, professor of international relations
and an expert on North Korea at the University of Shizuoka in
Japan.
But now "North Korea may release them on humanitarian grounds
and demand the U.S. provide humanitarian aid in return," he said.
"North Korea will certainly use the reporters as a bargaining chip
in negotiations with the United States."
Their release could come through a post-negotiation political
pardon, said Yang Moo-jin, a colleague of Choi at the University of
North Korean Studies.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said
the 12-year sentence — the maximum possible allowed by the North's
laws — could have been a reaction to "hard-line" moves by the U.S.,
including threats of sanctions and putting North Korea back on a
list of state sponsors of terrorism.
"But the sentence doesn't mean much because the issue will be
resolved diplomatically in the end," he said.
Tensions have been running high since the North held its second
underground nuclear blast May 25 and followed it up with several
missile tests. U.S. officials have said the North appears to be
preparing to test another long-range missile at a new launch
pad.
The circumstances surrounding the trial of the two journalists
and their arrest March 17 on the China-North Korean border have
been shrouded in secrecy, as is typical of the reclusive nation.
The trial was not open to the public or foreign observers,
including the Swedish Embassy, which looks after American interests
in the absence of diplomatic relations.
The two were reporting about the trafficking of women at the
time of their arrest, and it's unclear if they strayed into the
North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into
China.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Washington was
trying to confirm press reports of the sentencing.
Kelly said the U.S. was "deeply concerned" about the sentences
and that officials would "engage in all possible channels" to free
the women.
Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said the former vice president
has no comment. The South Korean government also did not comment.
Alanna Zahn, a spokeswoman for the journalists' families, said the
family members have no immediate comment.
Another American who was tried in North Korea in 1996 was
treated more leniently. Evan C. Hunziker, apparently acting on a
drunken dare, swam across the Yalu River — which marks the North's
border with China — and was arrested after farmers found the man,
then 26, naked. He was accused of spying and detained for three
months before being freed after negotiations with a special U.S.
envoy.
The North Koreans wanted Hunziker to pay a $100,000 criminal
fine but eventually agreed on a $5,000 payment to settle a bill for
a hotel where he was detained.
___
Associated Press writers Jae-Soon Chang and William Foreman in
Seoul, and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo contributed to this report.